


Worldseer

by sharkeatingleeks



Category: Cookie Run (Video Game)
Genre: Mythology - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:20:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29300283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sharkeatingleeks/pseuds/sharkeatingleeks
Summary: Just a side story to ‘Halfbloods’ while Kimiqu completely rewrites their draft. Expect a lot of hcs here in this mythology AU. Also, read ‘Halfbloods’ first. Or at least the giant hc and OC page at the front.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3





	1. I’m pretty sure I’m not qualified for the job, but okay.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kimiqu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kimiqu/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Halfbloods](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28573464) by [Kimiqu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kimiqu/pseuds/Kimiqu). 



The date is June 20th, 2021 AD. Earthbread. 

Tersinmin, Petasia(If any of you are asking, it’s the little crown that the Cookie is wearing)

Hello. Licorice Root Cookie, or Licro speaking here.

Another day, another routine. I woke up as usual, at 7:30 am. I ate a breakfast of hot jelly stew and whole wheat toast in the dark, being careful not to wake the other sleeping children. Sure, not particularly good, but eh. At exactly 7:40 am, I checked my notifications. Apart from the hate mail and social media notifications, I found something unusual. An email from Ten Hills Academy, known for being one of the most exclusive schools in all of Earthbread. However, I knew it more for the fact that it was the secret training camp for young demigods(halfbloods in the current time period, but I like the term demigods more. It just sounds cooler. It is also more specific). 

Did they know that I could see things that he shouldn’t be able to? Worse, did they know who my alter ego was? Wait, why am I telling you all this? Am I supposed to expect others to read my diary? I thought those thoughts as I opened my email. The title read “Invitation…”. So… they’re trying to be nice? I opened the email. “We invite you to become a teacher…” blah blah blah <insert formalities here>. Ok. Cool. Physics? Economics? I could teach those, no problem. After all, I’m was already qualified, right? That’s what I spent eight years of his life for? Sure, I had zero experience, so… oh. They know. Maybe Gummy Raiju Cookie told them, maybe Captain Ice told them, who knows?

I wrote back saying yes, and then read the date he had to come by. June 23rd. Doable, but I still needed an adult chaperone. Hmmm, where to get one… Maybe I could call up one of his old friends, I thought. Hmmm… 

At that moment, he got a call from Walnut Cookie. “Hi, Licro!”

“Hello, Walnut. What’s up?”

“I got invited to Ten Hills!”

“Coo! So did I! When are you going?”

“I gotta get there in three days. You?”

“Same here!”

“Could you make a detour and pick me up with you?”

“Gotta ask my parent”

The phone went silent for a while. Then a voice came back.

“Sure! We’ll be here somewhere tomorrow.” 

“Bye!”

“See you tomorrow!”

Well, yay. I was finally going to see my friend and trainee Walnut Cookie again! 

  
  


I looked into the mirror. Light brown licorice root hair, styled so that the tips of the roots only showed themselves at the very edges of his head? Check. Slightly larger than medium sized hazelnut eyes with medium frosting and small white curved eyebrows that could disappear under his hair when needed to? Still there. Long, straight torso with legs just as long and straight? Existent. Thin arms? Supposedly so, but getting thicker now. Putting on muscle? I supposed that I needed to increase my width a bit more now, or else he might look too thin. The slight frown was new though. Was I finally feeling the pressure? Since when did I become this self-conscious?

Oh well. It was finally time to be gone from this orphanage. Good bye, I don’t miss. He only cared about Walnut and Chestnut Cookies. The problem with the Land of Orgies(As everyone calls it) is that random children pop up everywhere. Wait… you said that they were only going to meet tomorrow? Well… no! Of course I was going to take a farewell tour across the republic! Even if no one liked me... Also, I had to get my experiments and projects packed up and ready to go from that base of mine. 

Carrying several backpacks and lugging two suitcases, I filmed my last vlog, for now. I went into the long night of the Land of Aurorae. The capital of Corona was his destination. I recognized a familiar curl of mint, an arc through the sky among many others. Why was it always there? Just at that moment, a voice spoke towards me.  _ The world waits. _

“Who are you?”

_ Who am I? You may call me Zethes. _

“Hello, Zethes..”

_ I have followed you since you caught my attention. Your mind stimulates mine. But I’ve been here forever, done everything there is here. I want to follow you, to new places. New things to do.  _ His voice boomed across the night sky, like one of those ceremonial drums used to signal the glorious, short summer. I remembered the first time I saw this arc of light green. 

It was during the end of summer, two years ago. The sun set sometime around seven pm, normal for most parts of the world, but here, it marked the change of seasons. Winter’s first darkness came, and the jazz music sounded. Why jazz? I still don’t know. 

Me and my friend Orange Cookie were on a rare nighttime out, free from any work(As if I had any). Sure, the school year loomed, but there was still time left to relax and enjoy life. What? You said we were on a date? Nononononothatwouldneverhavehappened.(Totally)<blushes>. You mean we would make such a cute couple? Well, THANK YOU, but I’m not going to tell you anything. That’s spoilers, and I hate those. Well, actually, sometimes I go to the back of books I haven’t read before just because I’m bored but don’t tell Walnut Cookie that. She’ll smack me and say that’s  _ undetectivelike _ .

As entirely insane people, we Pentasians like hiking. When I mean hiking, I don’t mean your regular hiking. We hang off the steepest crevices, wedgie each other on sharp rocks leading to only air and more pointy rocks beneath, sit on sticks protruding off a cliff, secured by only another’s boot(or foot) and watch it loosen, bit by bit as you start to slide, until finally they slam the stick and you shoot up, but mind you don’t fall. We call that feel-stick. All that and more, in silly costumes, as well!

Well, that’s what me and my friend were doing. Well, not the most outrageous stunts, mind you, (sensible) minors like us don’t do that. Eventually, after getting thrown up by my underwear via pole, we made it to the top. Yes, we. Weight issues. I landed on the ground hugging her and we rolled over on the thankfully smooth cliff top. When we stopped we realized that we were kissing each other and pulled out of our embrace, red-faced. “Uh-...” Orange Cookie blushed harder and averted her gaze from me. “What?” I asked. She stammered “ That - That- Uh… I-uh LIKE YOU!” She then collapsed on the ground in a fit of giggles. My heart, which was finally starting to cool down after all that climbing, immediately jumped up and started overheating like my old laptop when I tried to run any sort of good software on it(Thank the gods I got rid of that). My brain followed suit, despite all its processing power, memory, etc. My stomach turned to butterflies which sucked my blood like it was nectar and fluttered up to my face, where they promptly vomited(If you’ve never seen a vomiting butterfly before, you’re missing out) out the blood. 

I could barely bend down to pick her up without tripping over myself. It took several tries, but eventually, I managed to hoist Orange Cookie up without falling down. Then, with surprising clarity, I found my voice and said “I love you too, Orange Cookie.” My throat then choked up and I fell backwards towards the ground. No, that was not deliberate. I just overloaded again! Have you  _ seen _ my social and emotional processing skills? They’re terrible! I may have been overspecializing, sorry. 

After she picked me up, which took much longer than me picking her up, we walked to near the cliff’s edge and sat down, in fear of our own spinning sense of balance. Down below, just below our sight were the well-traversed yet dangerous paths that Cookies frequented. Up above were the aurourae(add italics as you wish), their light sploshed onto the sky like accidental brushstrokes of watercolour. The most noticeable of those was an boomerang-like arc of mint green. 

“It’s beautiful” Orange Cookie said.

“You’re beautiful” I replied with a smirk.

“Heyyy, don’t call me that!” She giggled, and started ribbing me.

After falling over each other all over again, we looked at each other. I could remember her perfectly tanned dough(A sure indication of something wrong, which I already knew), her infectious smile, her trademark(not really. Do you think that we are that dumb?), the way her bouncy orange hair waved in the light breeze…

She then broached the question “So… are we going out or not?”

By then, I had already cooled down, and was ready to answer the question.

“Sure we are!” 

We spent more time on the mountain than we liked, but we only realized that when we fell asleep. 

When I woke up, it was still dark outside. I sat up to see the gleaming quartz jaws of a …

  
  


Hey! Why am I telling you this?

“So… you like smart people?” I asked Zethes.

_ You could say. But you… you are exceptionally smart. You have the potential to make or break the world, even if you don’t know it.  _

“Ok. But you can’t get out of this latitude zone, can’t you. So how do I bring you?”

_ Trap me. _

I knew the answer, easy enough. A gemstone, any gemstone, as long as it is big enough, can trap a spirit. The question is where to find one. Also, the spirit’s life would be tied to the gemstone. 

“What are you anyways?”

_ An aurora. Both the spirit and the magnetic disturbance. _

“No wonder. You are certainly a disturbance.” 

_ Oi. You will learn soon enough. _

Eventually, I wandered around to a beach, Zethes following me. The water was inky black, darker than the night sky. I heard splashing noises coming from the water, but I couldn’t see anything. I switched to my other senses and discerned the oceany smell of squid ink. It could be anything, but I recognized it as the distinct smell of a monster. A monster that I recognized. 

The bad news is that it was a Black Kraken. These colossal creatures can grow up to a kilometer long and could easily pulverise me if it wanted to. The nets used to capture these beasts are large and nigh unbreakable without technical knowledge(Which I possessed) and great strength(Which I didn’t).

The good news is that I recognized said creature and had befriended it before, albeit with Orange Cookie’s help. Freeing Squid Ink Cookie may not lead to my death once I freed the creature. Also, Krakens keep indigestable objects they find embedded in their tentacles, which can be shot out or used as spikes. Given Squinky, as I called him, ‘s appetite, it would be likely that he had some gemstone on him.

I scanned the horizon to find the source of the smell and sight. That was immediately done, but then I had to swim through the sea of trash-scented ink. Sure, the ink is edible, but that doesn’t mean I want to skinny-dip through it! 

Oh well. What had to be done had to be done. I stripped and did a running jump into the water. Thank god the water was shallow enough that I only had to jump once to get to the gleaming net which contained a pulsing black bubble of ink. Smart Squinky. Knowing that he couldn’t escape, he at least preserved his tentacles. 

I thought back to my lessons aboard the Icepiercer, wher Captain Ice Cookie sent Orange and me towards Ten Hills. I didn’t make it. Gummy Raiju Cookie told me to wait some time. “Search for a knot bigger than the others. There should be a small knot sticking out of it. Untie the knot, and the net will get a hole in it. There will be multiple knots on any given net.” Stupid magic nets! Why can’t they just function like normal nets? I heard the sailor’s voice in my head. My hands scrabbled over the lattice of knots, trying to feel one bigger than the others. From there, it was just a matter of moving along with the ropes. 

The air around me suddenly lit up with the light green of Zethes helping me. With proper illumination, I could discern the size of the knots much easier. Eventually, I found some larger knots and started unraveling the net. Once I got two knots untied, the net untied itself(Thanks, net) and Squid Ink Cookie popped his ink bubble and inhaled the net for later use.

“Licro… friend?” He asked.

So he remembers me. Good. I whispered “Yes, Squinky. I am your friend.” and patted his back as a sign of friendship. 

“Long… time!” Squid Ink said with a smile on his face as he pulled me into a hug. 

“Aww…” I smiled as he tried to lick me.

When we finished our embrace, I asked “So, could you please give me a gemstone?”

Squid Ink pushed out a shiny green emerald from a tentacle, but also some other objects. A glass sphere. A can that was supposed to contain tinned fish. An old pump. A gold necklace. Some other objects. 

My first thought was  _ Squid Ink isn’t used to doing this in Cookie form. _ My second was  _ Squid Ink has been eating trash. Cleaning the ocean? _ My third was  _ Oh. He wants to go with me.  _

I started thinking about the items that Squid Ink gave me and started constructing, with a few additions of my own. Soon enough, I had a working squid tank and I asked Squinky to jump in, which he did, turning into a regular squid in the process.

Zethes went into the emerald when I was doing all that, and I didn’t bother speaking to him. I went in search of a place with a bed and a shower.


	2. I logically continue with this story(Can’t think of a title)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made chapter 1 first person.

June 20-22nd, 2021 AD, Corona, Pentasia - Tennington, Omphalia  
I checked into the overpriced airport hotel. Everyone gave my ink-stained dough funny looks and smells, but given my popularity, that might have been a good thing. At least the service was quick. 

The first thing I did was get into the shower and power-blast the ink out of me. While the shower did their work, my phone rung. I picked it up. 

“Hello. Walnut Cookie here.”

“Hi, trainee.”

“Where do you want to meet?”

“Lets see…”

I told her where to meet.

“Cool! When are you gonna tell Oooorange?”

“Ten Hills doesn’t take very nicely to private tutoring. Also, how many times have I said that we weren’t a couple?”

“Come on. Even if they blocked communication, you know you are.”

“Shut up or I’ll tell you who Phantom Bleu is.”

She hung up. Little did she know… or did she want to know? 

Eventually, I felt cleansed. Of ink, but also of a sign of friendship with Squid Ink. I dried myself, changed into clean clothes and told Squid Ink to wait while I bought a load of fish. Thankfully the staff mostly ignored me when going out.

Nothing much of note happened here, except that I realized that I should have showered after buying the fish. Once I got back, I fed Squid Ink, now in Cookie form, the fish while I showered for the second time in a hour. 

After I finished cleaning myself, Squid Ink was still eating the fish, preparing for a long night’s flight. Once he finished eating, I decided to start teaching him grammar and writing. We fell asleep, but not after Squid Ink managed to speak two words without breaks. He was a fast learner.

We were awakened by the alarm clock at 7am. Squid Ink jumped on me and ‘accidentally’ destroyed it with one of his tentacles. Quite a shock, and a great way to start the day. Squid Ink ‘crouched’ and said “Loud clock … scared”. Good! A sign of progress! I comforted him and coaxed him back to his squid tank. After getting ready, I went off.

I met Walnut Cookie and Chestnut Cookie at the designated point, as well as a pretty woman who I didn’t recognize at first, but later I recognized her as Croissant Cookie, foster mother of Walnut Cookie. When she saw me, Walnut Cookie ran forth and hugged me. “Nice to finally see you again, Licro” She said, muffled in my shirt. “Same here, Walnut” I replied. 

She was wearing her dumb ‘detective outfit’ that no self-respecting person would wear, but I ignored the details. This was her standard uniform, by the way. I put my hand into her wavy walnut hair and tried to ruffle it, which actually succeeded, but the bumps caused great discomfort to my hand. 

Chestnut Cookie also came up to me and started hugging me, but didn’t bury his head into me. That spike was a lot of trouble, but Chestnut Cookie resisted all attempts to cut it. He was wearing a fluffy chestnut(The color, not the nut) coat, with a brown headband, brown insulating pants and large brown boots. He looked like he was about to roll up in a ball any moment and you wanted to pet him, but also suspiciously like his pet hedgehog, Spiky. I never would have thought he would have gotten so cold

After about a minute of doing that, Croissant Cookie finally spoke “Hi, Licro! I’ve heard a lot about you from Walnut Cookie, but this is the first time we’ve met right?” 

I couldn’t meet her lovely brown eyes and shifted uncomfortably in my shirt. “Uh… yeah”

Croissant Cookie turned to her daughter “You didn’t tell me that he was this cute, didn’t you?”

Walnut Cookie hit her mother with her magnifying glass. “Hey!”

Croissant Cookie giggled “What’s wrong? He’s legal right?”

Walnut Cookie jumped onto Croissant Cookie’s shoulders and repeatedly started hitting her with her magnifying glass “Don’t talk about big brother like that!” Me and Walnut weren’t actually related, but she called me that anyways. I couldn’t help blushing, but then asked the whereabouts of her husband. “Oh, Roguefort?” Croissant said.

“Somewhere in Lightflour searching for some lost wristwatch of his.” 

I then answered Croissant’s question “Yes, if what we are thinking is the same.”

“Cool! You gonna join me tonight?”

Walnut started hitting her mother again. “You’re just gonna cheat with Roguefort on any cute boy you come across?” 

I and Croissant gave knowing looks to each other. I brought put the squid tank and told Squid Ink to come out. “This is Squid Ink Cookie, also known as Squinky. Say hello to Squinky!” They all said hello. Walnut and Chestnut went to the further step of trying to pat Squinky’s head. “Cookies pat… head” 

I proceeded to say “Squinky, say hello to Walnut, Chestnut and Croissant”

We all went out to eat like one happy family, except that Walnut was still hitting Croissant. Also there was a squid monster. But he was in his tank again, so there was no worry. 

We moved past several restaurants that offered squid dishes or before we found one acceptable to all. After eating, we went out sightseeing, me telling the others about what had changed since Walnut and Chestnut got adopted. A nice break from all of our busy lives, as time mechanic, detective, paperboy, and whatever I am. Researcher? Tutor? 

After an afternoon of relaxation and taking the others sightseeing, we went back into a hotel. Walnut and Chestnut slept in the room next to me, while Croissant slept with me. You can interpret that any way you want to. 

The next day, we went off to our journey to Ten Hills. First, the plane journey. After spending some time trying to get Squinky on the plane, even though there should have been no trouble at all, we finally entered the plane. I sat next to Walnut. We spent the time together reviewing what we had done since our last video call. Walnut also kept accusing me of fucking her mother. I will leave that up to you to decide if I did that or not. Chestnut slept in his adorably comfy jacket and pants. 

After some time, we landed in Omphalia, the navel of the world and the birthplace of Omphalian mythology, the base of civilization, not that Crossism and their wildly inaccurate ‘God’, capital G. From there on it was only a train-ride to Tennington. While there, Croissant ran into one of her friends. 

When we got off the train, we were tired of sitting and our legs were cramped. “I just want to curl up in a ball” Chestnut said, promptly doing just that. Walnut Cookie climbed on top of the ball and started balancing on her little brother. 

“Heyy, Chestnut needs to breathe, you know!” Shouted Croissant, who grabbed Walnut and gently put her on the floor. 

I crouched down and let Walnut piggy-bacl ride me. “Your legs tired?” I asked.

“Yeah” Walnut yawned.

Right after getting out of the train station, a Cookie that I could only describe as pink greeted Croissant. She had medium-length pink hair, wore a pink dress with pink shoes, smelt pink. I wondered if she was going to claim that she was 95. Right next to her was a short girl wearing a red dress and a hood. In her hands were two bombs that looked like giant cherries. Her mouth was a large semicircle of insanity, like some psycho Red Riding Hood. Oh wait, that’s just how she is portrayed in most media nowadays. 

“Hiiii, Croissant! How’s it going?” The pink Cookie said.

“Hello, Blossom. I’m fine. Just going to buy uniforms for Walnut. Could you please take care of Chestnut for me? ”

“Sure!”

The short, red Cookie stepped forward and offered a bomb, sorry, cherry to Chestnut. “Hey there, Chestnut! My name’s Cherry Cookie and my older sister here is Cherry Blossom Cookie. You want a Cherry?” She asked way too quickly and energetically for Chestnut to accept. 

“Uh… no thank you.” He said suspiciously. 

Cherry Blossom Cookie looked at my direction “Who is he?” 

“Uh, a friend of Walnut’s. Also invited to Ten Hills.” 

“Buying his uniform?”

“Er… no. He’s a teacher.”

“But he looks so young...” 

“A prodigy, just like Walnut. He’s why we stopped in Pentasia”

“Oh! He must be the person that Cinnamon Cookie was talking about!” 

I perked up. “What person?”

“You’d better come with me.”

With that, she dragged me to her home. Cherry dragged Chestnut and I nearly lost hold of Squid Ink’s tank. 

It was a pleasant little house on the main street, with no pink at all. Nearby, perhaps connected, was a flower shop. The sign read closed. I figured that Cherry Blossom ran the store. Indeed, she led us through the shop on the way home. When she opened the lovingly decorated red door, all hell broke loose. 

The pew-pew of an arcade machine suddenly stopped and a firecracker was thrown at Cherry Cookie’s face. She threw a cherry right back and the two exploded in a sweet-smelling starburst. Right at that moment, A pinata was thrown at the two and hit Croissant Cookie instead with a Whump!

3 Cookies popped out. The first one had hair reminiscent of a firecracker exploding, but pixelated. He was wearing a garishly pixelated shirt and pants that matched his hair. On his head was a dunce cap, but it read GOAT instead. He was handling a giant rocket that spit out strange green pixelated emissions.

The second Cookie was short even by the children’s standards. She wore a racing helmet with sharp spikes of candy hair sticking out from both sides and a horribly frilly racing onesie. She held a small triangular flag and a bat in her two tiny hands.

The third Cookie was surprisingly normal, considering the two color dumps called her playmates. She had sliced apple hair tied back with a green hairband, little blue overalls(What are the kiddy version called again? Dungaroos?) covering a striped white and blue shirt, and red and green balloons in the shape of apples in her hands. 

“Hi, Cherry! Back with some new friends?” They said in unison. “Yeah!” She replied in an overexcited voice. “Cool! What’s your name?” 

“Hi! I’m Chestnut Cookie!”

While the children were greeting each other, Cherry Blossom Cookie pulled me and her sister to one side.

“This has something to do with the prophecy, I assume?” I reasoned.

“Yes. When decoded, the prophecy goes something like this: 

The kin of her who saw my boss  
Starts with clear sight, clear sight her loss  
The one from the lightless land will  
Fix dips in boundaries, he will  
(Yes I know it is written badly, but prophecies are prophecies. Deal with it)

It involves Cherry Cookie and her ability to see through the Mist, but what’s up with the others?”

“Hmmm… It seems like Cherry Cookie is slowly losing her ability to see through the mist. But you seem to be fine. I thought that it was hereditary.”

“My mind was forced open by seeing Prophet Cookie flex his magnificent beard and accidentally seeing visions of the future. That’s different.”

“Hmmm… You’ve got the right person, for sure. Gotta start immediately, though.”

I turned to Cherry Cookie “Are you seeing any strange things?”

“Uh… Firecracker Cookie has a giant rocket in his hand, but sometimes I see the pixels and sometimes I don’t. When I look up in the sky I see flickering figures, but only sometimes. I don’t know what’s going on, what’s real and what’s not?”

Ok. So she is already starting to lo lose her clear sight. I get out Squinky from his tank. As a reflex, he turns into a Cookie.. “What do you see?”

“A Cookie.”

“Good. What do you think it is?”

“I dunno?”

This went on, like a cross of magical show and tell and flashcards. 

I reported “75% recognition, slowly deteriorating. Anyways, can I bunk here?”

“Sure!” Cherry Blossom replied


	3. You have a trademark visor? Well I have a trademark reverse visor!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can see two of my other OCs in this chapter. Also the Apple of this universe is even bigger than the one where you are reading this. So is Chocgo, which you guys know as Google. Hell, they can even create Cookiedroid, although it is unknown if they actually did.

June 22nd-23rd 2021 CE(I only used AD in the first two chapters because I wanted to show you that AD existed) , Tennington, Omphalia Hello. If you’re wondering why the writing style is not diary, this was a bunch of diary excerpts before I collected some of these and made it into a story. Yes, I know that someone is reading this. Also, it’s not just me(Licro) contributing! CInnamon Cookie is too, I think. Maybe some others.

Nighttime! When Cookies are supposed to sleep, but we don’t because we have better things to do anyways! I mean, I don’t need much sleep, so when Cherry Blossom Cookie and the children were asleep, I put on the Orphan’s mask, a cloak with a hood and the emerald containing Zethes and slipped out of the window. 

I let Zethes go from the emerald, and found his mint arc light up the sky. “Could you please turn into something more natural?” I asked. He turned into a faint yellow glow that illuminated the way ahead, but also me. Hmm… can I be made to be invisible? Not very likely… Oh well. “Zethes, is it possible that only I can see you?”  _ Hmmm… to mortals, I already cannot be seen. Wrong latitude. What more do you want?  _ Alright. “Time to see what sort of monsters this place packs!”  _ Indeed. _

I sneaked out of the boundaries of Tennington. A cold, but not yet icy, plain covered the distance between Tennington and the Frozen Milk Mountains, also known as the Frolact range. Even there I saw some monsters not seen to mortals. Citrus Gummi Wolves prowled the plains, looking for some juicy mochi rabbit to eat. Giant owls(I dunno. First time I’ve seen them) shared plans for even more silent hunting rifles and tested their prototypes on the mochi rabbits from their trenches. However, the Gummi Wolves also saw the rabbits, and when both species pounced on the dead rabbits, a fight started. I decided not to interfere, to see how the fight played out.

The wolves were fast and fierce, ripping apart a Giant owl every time they got their jaws on one. However, the owls had superior range and the gift of flight. Even with the superb tactics of the wolves, the owls had too much lift and stamina for even a totem pole of wolves to reach. Eventually, the wolves got tired of shots hitting their flank and threatening to disturb the totem pole, so they all jumped at once. This resulted in the wolves collapsing on each other, with a single wolf jumping high in the air before being shot multiple times and falling on an unlucky owl, who crashed to the ground and dissolved into a pile of dust. The wolf that jumped also died because of the fall. 

“Hmmm… can survive multiple regular bullets. What would happen if the bullets were enchanted?” Yes, I can tell the difference. An enchanted bullet would glow. 

An owl said “Gee, why didn’t you think of that, <insert hooting noises here>”

A reply came “Oh.”

“YOU <hooting> DUMBASS” 

The owls retreated. The wolves got on to their job of eating mochi rabbits. However, the owls came back later, shooting bullets that glowed purple. The wolves easily fell to this fresh onslaught, falling to the ground, bleeding some sort of gummy ooze. The owls got to the work of eating the rabbits and extracting organs and ooze from the wolves.

An owl flew over to me. “Thanks for stating the obvious. Not all of us are very bright. Anyways, next time, maybe you could interfere instead of killing us with words.” 

“I don’t have a weapon. Well, the only one I have is light-based, which aren’t very effective.” Stupid high melting points.

“Take this, then!” The owl tossed me a pen. “It turns into a rifle like the ones we used earlier by spinning it. Also, other things, because of course. Perhaps you can use this better than us.” The owl also tossed me some ammo.

I spun the pen. It turned into a battle staff. Huh. Also a pen? So unoriginal.  _ You are obvious _ was the only thing that Zethes said.

With the plain free from hostile wolves, I could cross into one of the mighty evergreen forests that dotted the Omphalian countryside. Gummy Bears slept anywhere they could find. Chocolate Cake hounds searched for edibles in the undergrowth, avoiding noxious purple fungi. A hound accidentally nibbled on one. It turned purple and started shooting spores, infecting the other hounds. Before it got out of hand, I held my breath and rushed in, stepping on the infected Cake hounds. Cake hounds are easily dispatched by stepping on them. Well, the small ones, at least. 

Right there, a thunderbolt landed, scorching a tree with a loud BOOM! I jumped higher than my own height, doing a 180-degree twist in the process. “YAH!” I screamed.

Where the tree was, a hulking cookie with a wolfish head, translucent yellow skin, bulging muscles that looked deceptively like gummies, and a grey loincloth that radiated static. Gummy Raiju Cookie, god of storms, electricity, and strength. “Gummy Raiju Cookie? You don’t normally behave like that” I bowed and said respectfully. 

“That isn’t very like you, Licro” He grunted. “Admiration. Ha ha! You- ”

“That was respect, not admiration.” I replied.

“Gods damn it.. So you have come and suspected the real reason. Yes, you will be teaching the summer course.” Suspicious. That was not like him.

“And Walnut Cookie?” 

“Walnut Cookie will be your assistant.”

“Do they know about the mask?”

“ No, they don’t know who’s behind the mask, but they suspect. Also, you seem to have gotten yourself a magnetic spirit. Zethes?”

The faint illumination that surrounded me slowly turned into a coherent shape. 

“Well, good. You showed yourself. And you, Cookie.” He pointed to me “Have chosen my path, the path of electromagnetism. Although I don’t really do the magnetism part.Goody! A new Cookie to join me! Later, I shall sponsor you, but I will wait for you to learn to use Zethes. Also, give me his emerald.”

“You’re gonna steal it, aren’t you”

I tossed him the emerald. He caught it and snapped his fingers. A coating of metal surrounded the emerald, with a metal spike moving nearly parallel to the jewel. “It is now a hairclip. You can clip it right now. Here.”

The god fixed the hairclip onto my front hair. “Turn it on. Meanwhile, I shall be checking up on you.”

He blasted upwards in a bolt of lightning. 

He blasted upwards in a bolt of lightning. 

I walked back to where I was supposed to be. While I did that, I tapped the emerald once. The mint arc of Zethes appeared, like a visor that added light. “Cool! A reverse visor!” I whistled all the way home and started playing with my new pen. Apart from battle staff and rifle, it could also turn into a USB stick. I plugged it into my laptop. It loaded into a purple screen, with the words DIGITOWL on it. I thought “What can this do?” and the screen turned into a Q&A page. I read it. 

Q: What does DIGITOWL DO?

A: DIGITOWL is a data-analysis system and communication network for Giant Owls. It can be thought operated.

I didn’t read further. Better to learn it myself

A new day dawned, and so did the start of a new job. After getting up, I met with Walnut Cookie for the ten-minute walk to our new school. The ten education blocks rose up like a stone formation, surrounding the main tower and surrounded by the ten house dorms on each of the ten hills, all with their own unique flairs. Sundial dorm was an actual sundial, the obelisk leaving an accurate shadow in the 7’o clock sun. Clockwork dorm looked like some sort of Ruby-Gold iceberg cuckoo clock. Shade dorm… where was it again? Oh. Hidden in the shadow of a hill.

When we finally reached the gates of the school, an old Cookie with an eye-obscuring dirty white hairdo and only icing for clothes and a less old Cookie wearing a cream turban and 3 icing buttons. “Hello, new student and teacher. My name is Cream Cookie and I am the principal of this school.” The older Cookie said.

“Hi! My name is Walnut Cookie!” Walnut Cookie said. “Have you heard of me?” 

“Yes. Genius little detective.”

Silence. Then Walnut Cookie turned to me. “Aren’t you supposed to say something?”

“Uh- what?” I stammered.

“You’re supposed to say something, dummy!” She got all flustered and started hitting me with her magnifying glass. 

Cream Cookie turned to the Cookie beside her. “Is he always that rude?” She whispered. Yes, I could hear that. The Cookie next to her replied “He doesn’t care about this thing called ‘manners’ very much. You would know if you watched his vlogs, instead of thinking that he has a superiority complex.’

The other Cookie turned to introduce himself. “My name is Buttercream Choco Cookie. I am the head of Economics, ____ house and Year 11.” I knew that already. However, he didn’t mention the issue known as his daughter, Cheesecake Cookie. 

“We’ll give you an overview of the school and your duties as a teacher or student. After that, you will be assigned a student guide to help you fee; at home. This includes you, teacher.’

They opened the school gates and ushered us in. “This school is a …” I kinda stopped listening after the first 4 words. I remembered them for later, but I just stayed silent and let Walnut Cookie gush at the facilities. I already knew the whole shtick anyways. After the tour, we met up with a student, who volunteered to show is around. She was short, with purple grape pigtails and large round glasses. She was wearing a perfectly maintained school uniform. With an obviously suck-uppy voice, she introduced herself. “Hello! I’m Alchemist Cookie! What are your names?”

“My name’s Walnut Cookie!”

I immediately thought of something to say. “My name is Licorice Root COokie, but ou can just call me Licro. You’re gonna have to do a lot more than that to impress me, shameless teacher’s pet.” I grunted.

Alchemist gave me an annoyed look. ‘I’m not a teacher’s pet! I’m just a perfect student!’ 

Needless to say, I did not let her carry my backpack.

“Whatever. Continue your tour.” 

She gave me the tour, but also included the histories and popular school culture. It was nice knowing about the ultimate roaster, Espresso Cookie. 

“This plaque commemorates Espresso Cookie, known as ‘The Savage’. He roasted and dissed his way through school history, using his talents to blaze his way through to student leader and doing a lot of great things. He does not work here, although you can contact him. However, you are liable to get roasted.”She explained.

"You seem like you know him.”

“He made an entire diss track about me.”

“You’re exceptional!” Walnut piped up

“Awww… Thank you!”

“Exceptionally bad!” She continued. I knew what time it was. “BA-DUM-TSS!” I shouted. 

Alchemist collapsed on the floor. “Ow… that sounds like something Espresso and Clover would do.” 

She didn’t mention Clover before. “Who is Clover?” Walnut asked

“Espresso Cookie’s partner in crime. Although what he did was perfectly within the school rules.”

We moved on.

Alchemist led Walnut to her classroom, then me to my ‘homeroom’, stopping by the dorms in the process, where I dropped off Squid Ink. She opened the door to room 534 (Economics). It was a medium-sized room with walls plastered with motivational posters and an interactive whiteboard at the front. Twelve two-seater desks dotted the rest of the room. I spotted my table and plopped down. Alchemist told me about my roles and duties as a teacher. At the end, she finished with “I’m just standing here to introduce your students to you. By the way, no teacher-student relationships.” Interesting. 

At 7:30, earlier than usual, the class came in. I counted the student that came in. 

I knew that two demigods were in the class, both of them children of Gummy Raiju Cookie. I also knew who they were. Still, it was a shock(literally and figuratively) when they came in.

Lemon Cookie and Orange Cookie entered the classroom holding hands, despite the fact that the students were entering single file. She looked at me and recoiled in shock, although that could also have been because I was staring at her for using her phone. “Minus 50 points from Raiju house. I, and the school by the way, expect students to not look at their phone when entering homeroom. Also, I’m confisticating your phone for the day.’ I said sternly. She stuttered “b-b-”

“No buts. Give me the phone.”

She gave me the phone. I pocketed it. Alchemist Cookie nodded “So you aren’t  _ that _ bad.”

“Shut up you snarmy bitch!” Someone said. 

“He’s got a point, you know. Plus one point for Raiju house” 

Alchemist Cookie left the room in protest. 

“Anyways, my name is Licorice Root Cookie, but you can call me Licro. I’m the same age as you, but apart from experience, which is currently physically impossible, by the way, I am well qualified to teach you. Read my vlogs if you want more information about me. In fact, I’m going to post one right now. Just search me up. Anyways, introduce yourselves!” I introduced myself. 

The Cookies started introducing themselves. One by one, I learned their names. 

Razor Blade Cookie and Radish Cookie were the ones that stood out most to me. They had distinctly sharp personalities and a burning desire for something. I don’t know what, ask Pink Choco Cookie, not me!

Meanwhile, Zethes complained.  _ Can I go somewhere? I’m bored.  _ I let him go out and get some fresh air.

We played icebreakers for the rest of the period, just like we were supposed to. 

During first break, I called Orange Cookie to room 534 and shut everyone else out. 

“So… that wassn’t a very good first impression for both of us, I think. Now, what were you doing on that phone?”

She didn’t answer.

“Ok, time to check it.”

First, I had to get past the PIN. Actually it was very easy. Last time I checked, it was her birthdate, July 10th, 2006.

I typed 071006. To my surprise, it actually worked. “You haven’t changed that PIN since you got your first phone, Orange. Seriously?” I didn’t use a PIN. I used a 12 digit password which changed every week, although it wasn’t random, as was optimal. 

I grabbed a cable from my bag and connected her phone to my laptop, which still had the thumb drive sticking out of it. DIGITOWL activated and gave me a list of options. I ignred it and asked it “What activity was actively happening on the phone on June 23rd, 7:25 pm local time?”

DIGITOWL whirred to life. It gave me the answer. Apple Messages(Superior to whatever false sensation of choice Doughbook gives us) to a Cookie called Lime Cookie. Huh. I opened the chats and read it. 

Just regular friend stuff, whatever that meant. Me and Walnut were always more of detective partners than friends, and I didn’t make any new ones since two years ago. Also girly stuff. Ew.

The more interesting parts are the parts about the summer course. Encryption scrambles the scent of demigods, and the Mist obscures suspicious texts, but still. Bad protocol! Sometimes the bad guys are hackers as well!

The more I scrolled, the more I got agitated. Why? Is it because she had been flaunting the perfectly sensible rules?

“You’re jealous, aren’t you?” Orange Cookie spoke.

“I don’t get jealous, and you know that.”

“The old you didn’t. But now, you’ve changed.”

“Changed? How?”

“You’ve become colder. Harsher. Ruder as well.”

“Perhaps you’re the one that made me not all those.”

“Perhaps. See you tonight?”

“Alright. By the way, I’m keeping your phone”

She left the room. Buttercream Choco came in.

“Ok, so finished speaking, lo-”

“Come on. Didn’t end that well”

“Oh well. I have hope, though. And money too”

“You’re betting on this?”

Buttercream Choco quickly changed the subject. “So… how’s your first day?”

“Alright”

“Getting along fine?”

“Yes”

After that, he left the room. I told DIGITOWL to do more analysis and give me a summary. In the meantime, I went to the toilet.


	4. Tada! I am the narrator now!

22-23 June 2021 CE, Tennington, Omphalia

Hello! It is me, Cinnamon Cookie! The Great and Terrible(although my fellow wizards forget the ‘great’ part of it :( )

Are you wondering why I am the narrator now? Because I can appear anywhere! (No it’s not teleportation. But it’s _magic_ ) Including in here! Wait *pshpshpsh* I have a reason?

Anyways, on that day, 22 January 2021, I was at the school library of Ten Hills, chatting with Buttercream Choco Cookie and Blueberry Pie Cookie while standing on a table. “I don’t think he will break a rule which he thinks is justified.” Blueberry Pie Cookie argued. 

“You let your own rationality overestimate his. No, I think he will seek a relationship.” Buttercream Choco countered

“Cinnamon? We’re ready to take a bet” They both said in unison.

“Hmmm. I predicted this! I have one last piece of information for you!”

“Predicted the bet or the outcome?” Blueberry Pie asked warily

“THe bet! Anyways, I know exactly who Licorice Root will try to start a relationship with!”

“Walnut Cookie?” Blueberry Pie guessed

“Nope!” I said

“Orange Cookie?” Buttercream Choco Cookie guessed.

“Ta-da! Correct!”

“You prophesied this?” Blueberry Pie raised an eyebrow

“No. I just watched his vlogs! Anyways, bets?”

“Hmmm… so the stakes are upped. $50000 for the specific Cookie, $10000 if not.” Blueberry Pie consulted a book. (That probably wasn’t related, but it happened.)

“Deal” Buttercream Choco replied.

“Ta-da! Bets taken!” I jumped off the table, meaning to summon a portal, but fell flat on my face and gave myself a broken nose.

“OW!” I screamed in pain.

“Mmph. And you call yourself great” Blueberry Pie stifled a laugh and put a gloved hand to her mouth.

I lay there for a while, regaining my strength. I could have used a portal that I stored on a card, but I tend to save those for emergencies. 

Blueberry Pie prodded me. “Someone might step on you, even with the Mist obscuring you.”

That gave me the strength to open a portal to Cherry Blossom’s house. Closest place, so it needed the least amount of energy.

I landed right in front of one of Firecracker Cookie’s arcade machines. “Cool! An AI hologram!” Firecracker Cookie shouted.

He inserted a coin and started a game. I had no choice but to play along. Cherry Cookie, who was looking at us, shouted “That’s not and AI! That’s Cinnamon Cookie! But where did he come from...:” That was expected. I gave a prophecy that predicted it. 

Firecracker Cookie made me play anyways, even though he knew I would get destroyed. 

“Congratulations! You are somewhere between easy and medium!” He said at the end of it. I did not know if that was a compliment or an insult. At that moment, Cherry Blossom came into the room and spotted my bu. “Cinnamon! What happened to that nose?” She rushed to me. “How did you bust that?” She dragged me a spare bedroom. I tried tp speak, but my words came out as “I kwem wo a twebell” 

“Oh dear…” Cherry Blossom Cookie muttered. 

She put an ice pack on my nose, which helped somewhat, and told me to get some good rest. Well, it was nice to get some sleep without the cause being magical energy drain because I kept storing spells on cards.

The world became fuzzy, then black. My soul shaped into the familliar butterfly of dreams, which left the body like… well… how do I say it again… a parasitic butterfly? (Yes, parasitic butterflies exist.) Since it was still daytime in Tennington, quite a lot of my contacts were awake, or in REM. Just then, my butterfly got dragged out of the userspace and up above, into the heavens.

Prophet Cookie in his dull brown God-hair robe and Gummy Raiju were talking to each other in the gardens. I fluttered towards them, and they noticed me, although they didn;t try to stop me.

“Worldseer… is that what you call him?”

“That is what I call the boy, yes. Or what he will be”

Cinnamon hoped they weren’t talking about him.

“Well true enough, he saw me in a purer form.”

“Like one with less clothes?”

“Yeah”

“OK then, you nudist furry.”

“Why did you bring Cinnamon here?”

“Oh” Prophet turned his beard towards me. He didn’t bother turning the rest of his body. Rude, father!

“Hello, son. Meet your brother.” 

I’ve met Gummy Raiju Cookie a few times before, but he always ignored his parentage. Indeed, Gummy Raiju grunted ‘This loser next to me isn’t my father. And this loser fluttering in front of me isn’t my brother” 

Oh come on! I found my voice back to normal “I may have done some-”

“There is no way someone like you can lead the wizards. You can’t even open a portal correctly!”

Prophet Cookie butted in “That’s not what we were supposed to be talking about. Cinnamon Cookie, you were taking a bet before you broke your nose, right?”

“Mm-mm” I sounded.

“On Worldseer.” Gummy Raiju spoke this time. “And his love life. As if he should have one.” He sneered.

“But he does” Prophet looked at his crystal ball. “And most likely succeed, for a time”

“MOST LIKELY?” Gummy Raiju roared. “CAN’T YOU EVEN SEE THE FUTURE CORRECTLY?”

“Son, the future has many possibilities. An-”

“YOU’RE THE GOD OF THE FUTURE”

“Just because you’re the god of something does not mean that you know everything about it. I never knew about my plasma abilities until the Cookies discovered it, but it was always there.”

Prophet Cookie turned to me, this time with his whole body. “Whether you like it or not, your fates are entwined. You, Cinnamon, must oversee them. Make sure Licro doesn’t explode. Also, you don’t have anyone suitable, don’t you, Raiju?” 

“No, they might go feral.” Gummy Raiju grunted a

Ok…? “But what about my love life?” 

“Just accept Cherry Blossom already. ” 

“But I’ve spent the time rejecting Cherry Blossom”

“She needs you. Do you know why she always smiles?”

“No?” 

“Well, to hide the pain, the PTSD.”

“And Earl Grey?”

“Oh yeah… he too needs your help.”

As if it was sucked by a vaccum cleaner, my butterfly whooshed out of the heavens and back to… the visions. I saw a tulip. I saw Licro and Orange doing things together. The tulip opened. I saw them apart, arguing, kissing, doing ... things. The tulip contracted and extended with every change. In the end, I saw a rainbow tulip close, ignited by a flame. But also the tulip bloom into full view. _What can happen. Not what will happen._ A voice said. I saw another vision.

It was a dark field with wisps of smoke. Cherry Blossom Cookie stood with her umbrella held in front of her on cracked grey ground. Cherry Cookie stood next to her, blown up. On the other side of the field two other Cookies stood. One adult and one child. The older one wielded a giant hammer as large as he was, which radiated tendrils of darkness. The younger one wore a gliding suit.

My butterfly fluttered to one side. From here, I saw a dark figure that suspiciously looked like Dark Enchantress Cookie, shrouded in mist. _She stands watching, playing the others._ The same voice said. My butterfly flew back into my body and I woke up.

“AGH!” I woke up with a scream. Cherry Blossom was sleeping next to me. What was she doing here? “Blossom?” Cherry Blossom’s eyes fluttered open. “Cinna?” She said while yawning. 

“What are you doing in my bed?” I yelped.

“Your sweet smell…” She muttered, blushing. 

“Arrgh!” I yelled. “How much do I have to say that I don’t love you?”

I liked her of course. She did so much and meant so much to me. In the past, I might have tried 

to start a relationship with her but after the Grandmaster Hotel... 

Oh well. I asked her “What makes you always smile?”

She teared up and frowned. I took that as a sign to leave the room. 

I met Firecracker and Cherry again, making bombs. “Hello Cinnamon Cookie!” They cheerfully said. I asked to inspect their bombs, and they agreed. I stored some bombs on my cards. “Where did the bombs go?” Cherry Cookie asked. “Magic!” I answered, and if Blueberry Pie or Espresso were here, they would have agreed. Sigh.

That night, I had a vision. Licorice Root Cookie and Orange Cookie were in their classroom. Licro was looking at something, while Orange was standing by. They had a conversation.

  
  


“You’re jealous, aren’t you?” Orange Cookie spoke.

“I don’t get jealous, and you know that.” Licorice Root replied coldly.

“The old you didn’t. But now, you’ve changed.”

“Changed? How?” 

“You’ve become colder. Harsher. Ruder as well.”

“Perhaps you’re the one that made me not all those.”

“Perhaps. See you tonight?”

“Alright. By the way, I’m keeping your phone”

She left the room.

The same voice again spoke _And so it starts._ It showed me an image of a rainbow tulip. _This symbolizes the relationship._

I entered a video conference, also known as Dreamskype, with Blueberry Pie and Buttercream Choco. 

I spoke first and showed them my vision. 

Blueberry Pie said “Good!” 

Buttercream Choco said “I have faith that Licro can change. I have faith that he will.”

I ended the video conference there. 

The next day, I was woken up by Cherry Blossom Cookie. “Hi, Cinna! Good sleep!” 

“Hi Blossom!” I returned

“Ready for another good day?”

“I suppose… we have a show, right?”

“Yep!”

No wonder we didn’t have children screaming around. I had breakfast and prepared to do some stage tricks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are Pancake and Roll Cake going to appear? Depends on Kimiqu. Then, would it even be Licro focused anymore? Also Cookiedroid’s hypothetical counterpart is iCookie.


	5. I find the Empire Cake Building

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is pretty much the last chapter I can do before Halfbloods Chapter 1 comes out, since my camp scenes would probably correspond to those in Halfbloods. Also we need to share Walnut Cookie. Even though the stories are supposed to be separate. And my Cake bros headcanons were mostly accepted. Also iCookie makes more sense than CookieOS, just saying.

23-26 June, Tennington, Omphalia

After my first day as a teacher, I went back to the dorms. (I COULD tell you my class experience, but come on, it’s the end of the school year.)

The dorms of house Raiju could be described as a family-friendly werewolf den(I haven’t seen one, but I’ve heard of them), but one made by a mad scientist. Hastily plastered metal plates covered a ceiling made of animal pelts(real ones). Large banks of generators and other machinery lined the hallways, covered with large amounts of insulation. Half-eaten takeaway littered the floors, waiting to be cleaned up by whatever cleanup function the building had. Cute puppies bounded about. Half-finished games of poker and assorted board games dotted the tables. Most objects were high-tech, and I felt an electric field humming across. Aloe Cookie and Muscle Cookie greeted me.

“Greetings, newbie! Do you lift?” Muscle Cookie chortled.

“Please, Muscle. Not everyone lifts.” Aloe Cookie sighed

Muscle Cookie was wearing only black gym shorts and a balaclava that made him look like an executioner of old. He held a sleek black cane over his shoulders. I wondered if he ever killed anyone with the cane.

Aloe Cookie was wearing a green lab coat with choppy green aloe hair and a smart monocle, which probably detected my heat signature, fear level, vitals, skeleton and some other variables as well. He waved at me to come inside.

“Say hi to Cyborg Cookie!” A robotic Cookie with a purple battery for a body, grey metal tubes for hair, and augmentations everywhere floated. “My name is Cyborg Cookie, also known as Palm Tree Cookie. Hello!” I knew that all of them were demigods(Thank you Buttercream Choco and Alchemist)(Wait… I thanked ALCHEMIST?), with the possible exception of Cyborg Cookie, so I felt safe to get out my favorite pen. At that moment, Zethes returned to my hairclip. “I sense a disturbance in the magnetic field” Cyborg muttered.  _ Something new I learned: DIGITOWL can be used while the pen is in staff form.  _ He told me. I willed my pen to turn into a staff and slammed it into the ground, willing DIGITOWL to try to connect with Cyborg. The carved owl eyes glowed and whirred, and a screen opened on the staff. 

DIGITOWL told me everything there was about her, her entire memories, her skills, abilities, thoughts, etc. I saved it for later and turned my staff back into a pen. “That wasn’t a nice thing to do!” Cyborg exclaimed. “What did you just do to her?” Aloe asked me nervously. “Load her entire being” I replied.

“So… you’re taking a back up? Those things are dangerous, you know? You could ilegally make more copies of her.”

“I couldn’t, actually. I don’t have the blueprints of her cyborg body.” 

Aloe muttered something under his breath.

We went to our rooms before the students got back. However, I went out and waited for Orange Cookie. When I found her, I invited her to come in. 

“It looks… basic” 

“I just moved in. Even then, why would I redecorate? Raiju house is perfectly to my liking.”

Seriously. I can’t stuff any more gadgets inside these walls. Whoever did this renovation(Probably Aloe) must be a boss. I turned DIGITOWL into a staff and tapped it on the floor. Screens appeared all over the walls, detailing all the functions of the smart walls. I wondered if the other houses got such sweet digs. Probably not. 

Orange Cookie widened her eyes in amazement. “So many functions!” She squealed and started looking around at the small screens around the room. “Excuse me?” I asked, but she was too busy trying all the functions to listen. Eventually, she found the squid tank, which she somehow didn’t see before. She recognized the squid and pulled it up to say hi. “Hi, Squinky!” Squid Ink Cookie recognized her and jumped out of his tank, turned into Cookie form and tackled her into an eight-armed hug. “Orange...Friend!” Orange Cookie managed to hold his weight and chuckled. Oh how bright her smile was! Also Squinky’s. His too. 

I sat on me bed while they greeted each other. What am I doing here? Oh yeah. Chatting? Giving her phone back? I haven’t done that yet. Why do I exist? I am going off-track

After they finished their greetings, I tossed Orange Cookie her phone back. “Have it.” I said nonchalantly. “And you have copied the entire history of my phone?” She asked suspiciously. 

Well, I expected her to know that. “Well, yeah.” I admitted, and started scratching my head. “From what I have gathered, everything seems normal, and safe if there aren’t any evil magic hackers. Also Lime Cookie is  _ really  _ jealous of everyone. Are you supposed to have that effect?”

“So you admit that you’re jealous.”

Well, she hasn’t degenerated  _ that _ low yet. “Yep”

“And you like me?”

Well… she figured that out. Now I have to admit. “Yes. Perhaps even  _ love _ .” That concept called love, especially young love. No one expects it to work, but it sometimes does, and a lot of (bad) stories are written about them. (Wait what do you mean this is one of them)

“What about you, then?” 

“I  _ liked _ you, past tense. Now… you;ve changed, and not for the better…” She trailed off. I heart went into free-fall in the polar cold. (Do I at least get suspended animation?)

“You’ve told me that already.” was the only thing I could say. My mouth was as dry as the icy deserts of Dric'e. My brain was working overtime in the cold. Did it actually get cold or am I just thinking it? 

ice

“Yes, I have,” She continued “but you have a chance to change. Perhaps being in my presence will do that.” The cold stopped. Now it was only the natural chill of the room.

Yep. “Your friendbending tends to do that.”

“Hey!” She giggled “I told you to stop calling it that! On the other hand, you’re getting better already” She messed up my hair until it was a tangled mess of roots. “Even better! Why do you even style it?”

Orange Cookie has an ability called ‘Connection’, which is her result from the random ability lottery of her father, Gummy Raiju Cookie. Don’t ask me why that happens, I’ll find the reason sooner or later. It allows her to manipulate relationships. It’s very complicated, and I have no vish to get into behavioral research. I know that she cannot manipulate love and that she can manipulate relationships that do not involve herself.

As to why I love her, I suppose it has something to do with attachment. As to why not Walnut, we never thought of our relationship as a friendship, more of a detective partnership. Yes, I feel love. I’m only a regular Cookie, you know. Even the ones that swear off marriage and celibacy and all that still fall in love.

Wait, what was the question she asked again? Why do I style my hair? “Trying to wash that is starting to become downright painful.” 

“Well, use a comb.”

Why did I not think of that? As to why it is not painful, combing my hair feels pleasurable, not painful. 

“Whoops”

Orange Cookie smiled. Ah, that smile! I even smiled myself. “You’re acting more like your old self. More like the dork you are.” 

“Heyyy!” I said defensively “I’m not a dork, I was merely testing you!”

She kissed me. My heart warmed up. My brain froze, but I could get one question out. “I th-thought that you didn’t like me yet.”

Orange Cookie smiled and I wanted to kiss her back, but I kept myself in check. “Well, you’re already believing like your old self. Keep up the good work! Someday you’ll win my heart back.” She giggled again. I wondered if she  _ wanted _ me to do this. 

Also.. back? Does that mean that she has fallen for someone else? “Do you like Lime Cookie?” I asked warily.

“Well, yeah, I like her. I know it’s wrong, but I do anyway. The same goes for Lemon.” 

Hmm… Zethes complained  _ Can you stop with your lovey-dovey talk? I’m bored.  _

“And what would I be doing otherwise?” I snapped back.

_ Existing. Listening to me telling you about what I did during the day.  _

Orange Cookie heard me. “Uh… who are you talking to?” She asked. Zethes showed himself. 

_ Hello, Orange Cookie. I am Zethes. _

“And what are you?”

_ I am offended. But whatever. I am an aurora, the spirit that is tied to the phenomenon. _

__ “Cool! Have I seen you before? I think I have! Wait… was that when we confessed our love to each other?”

_ I suppose so. I understand why he loves you, but he’s so immature. _

“I know, right?” 

I heard what they were saying “Hey!”

_ What? You  _ are  _ immature. _

I reflected on myself. I shy away. I don’t speak simply because I don’t have to. I love Orange because… I don’t make friends because… oh well. I suppose I  _ am _ childish. But then, I expected that. 

Oh well. “If you don’t have anything else to say, you may leave.” 

She left. That night, I got my mask out and went to explore the school. (Do I really have to tell you what happened before then? Well, I quit my diet. Also the school makes some  _ good  _ fries)

The security systems was designed to keep out demigods, but I wasn’t one. A time where I am glad I am not a demigods. I could pass right through the netting! Mortal security cameras could still catch me, however. So I called on Zethes to put another colour on my body so that I appeared invisible. Strangely, I could adjust the colours with my mind. I kept changing the colouration every time the background changed colour. 

Eventually, I made it in without being detected. I got my staff out, slammed it and found a secret passageway in a false section of wall. I entered a dark passagewasy and told Zethes to intensify his light. Suddenly, the passageway lighted up and I could see ancient paintings, lovingly restored. The pictures depicted gods, major events, from wildly different periods of time, from the birth of the first being, Celestial Cookie and the (hypothetical) Big Bang to the 1800s, right before the school was founded. I didn’t doubt that there were yet more paintings, just not in a passageway leading from the school(security reasons). 

I followed the passageway until it split into two. I thought  _ Hmm. Can Zethes bounce rays through these passageways and make them return?  _ Zethes returned an answer.  _ Possibly. Lidar exists. _ Eventually, he returned a result.  _ Hmmm. We can communicate telepathically now… also, if you want to learn more about anything, go right. _ Smart Zethes. Not giving me what lay ahead.

I went right, but also crept cautiously. Zethes could be leading me into a trap here… learning that I am guillible… 

No traps. Phew! The passage led to a dead end. Zethes told me to walk straight through without hesitation, and I actually did it. Surprisingly, it worked. 

I walked straight into a giant clearing easily 1km to 1 km deep within the mountains surrounding the school forest, extending out of it. Magical cranes and flying lifters hummed as they brought giant slabs of cake up a pile, which I realized was made entirely of the cake, which had glyphs inscribed on the surface. A Cookie in a blue dress was overseeing the construction of the cake pile. A specter from a tome the Cookie was holding kept watch, occasionally eating a Sugar Squirrel with glowing eyes. They looked possessed, and since Sugar Squirrels didn’t have glowing eyes, they probably were. She looked my way and saw right through my illusion. “Hello, Orphan, or shall I say Licorice Root Cookie? At least I know that you’re not the one sending the squirrels here.” She raised an eyebrow behind her glowing white glasses lenses. “Can you at least help me find out who is sending these Squirrels?” 

“And what is this pile of cake?” I asked

“Oh, a magical beacon.”

“Of cake”

“Kransekake, to be specific. The beacon will allow us to detect demigods from all over the world, without us needing seekers. It will also increase our magical defenses, concealment, whatnot. But it’s just an excuse to stack kransekake to the moon.” 

I craned my head and saw a blue flame at the top of the beacon. There were smaller fires where the tower was finished. “Uh… won’t the mortals see it?” 

“What did I say about concealment?”

“Then how do the demigods find this place?”

I got around to tracking the sugar squirrels. It wasn’t easy with the squirrels being controlled to suicide into the specter, but I eventually found a trail of squirrels to follow. 

Sneaking, sneaking… I crept through the forest until I found the confidence to ask Zethes to light up the entire forest. He complied, and from then on, it was much easier to walk through.

In a dense clearing of trees from where the squirrels led from, I heard voices. Hmmm…

“Show yourselves!” I shouted with authority

“YOU HAVE ACORN JELLIES?” A tiny voice squeaked

“NO! Don’t ask strangers for acorn jellies, Frisbee!” A deeper voice said.

Frisbee Cookie? Sounds strange.

“Uh… who are you?”

Two sets of eyes popped up to look at me. One look at my mask and they popped back down.

“Scary!”

“I told you this was a trap, frisbee!” 

And they ran. I decided to not run after them.

I returned to the pile of kransekake and reported to Blueberry Pie Cookie. “Well… two Cookies, on the run from Dark Enchantress Cookie. They were scared of the mask.”

._. She made a face like the one on my mask. “Yeah, I can see that.”

She dismissed me. 

On the last day of school, June 26th, Cream Cookie asked me to give a speech. Since I came like 3 days before the end of school, I didn’t plan my speech. But when I turned up onstage, I knew exactly what to say.

  
  
  


Just joking. But I said something anyways. 

“Greetings, students and teachers and other Cookies. My name is Licorice Root Cookie, but just call me Licro. I am a new teacher here and I have no idea why the school hired me 3 days before the summer break. Anyways, nice to be here existing.”

That was all I could think of. The students muttered, but not in confusion. Cream Cookie pulled me to the side. “Come on, Licorice Root! You know better than that. Come to my office at once!”

I went to her office, completely oblivious as to what Cream Cookie would do. She didn’t let me sit down. “Look, I know that you’re new, and Buttercream Choco wrote a glowing recommendation for you, but your performance has not been good. The students like you well enough, but you aren’t giving me a good impression of yourself.” 

“Of course not.”

“And you know it. Even worse.”

“My attitude does not mix well with those snobby teachers who always think that they are best.”

“Because you think you are the best.”

“Not necessarily. For example, I simply  _ cannot _ suck up to authority. I know my weaknesses.”

“Whatever. Happy holidays. Remember that you will have to behave better when we come back from school break.” She let me leave.

Whew! Dodged a big break there! 

After the school year ended, Orange and Lemon pulled me over to chat.

Oh yeah, I should introduce Lemon Cookie. The living experiment. The son of Lemon Meringue(Herself a demigod daughter of Cream Unicorn) Cookie and Gummy Raiju Cookie. He was born with the unfortunate, Mist-breaking power of ‘Rising Voltage’, which means that his electric powers are constantly increasing. At the age of 9, he accidentally killed his mother, and came under the custody of Ten Hills. Eventually he was adopted by Citron Cookie, but come on! That didn’t make a difference at all!

He is currently here to get an education and get experimented on. Is this legal? Dubious. Is this moral? Probably not. Did I get kicked out of the philosophy community? Yes, but still. I agree with them on this count, even if I think that it may be necessary.

“Heyy! We’re free for the holidays!” Orange Cookie squealed

“Of course not.” Lemon Cookie said sourly(get it? No?).

“And?” I raised an eyebrow

“Come on! I’m gonna show you my favourite places in Tennington!”

She grabbed me by the arm and dragged both me and Lemon.

Later, we sat at one of Orange Cookie’s favorite cafes, Glyph(which I soon learned was a chain operated by the Coffee school of magic) drinking our drinks (I found that I liked the Mint choco affogato best.) and talking about life when it turned relatively … uncomfortable.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Love? I thought you didn’t feel that.” 

“Come on, Lemon! Of course I feel love! Even the best of us, the ones that swear to eternal solitude, we fall in love.” 

“So you love Orange?”

“Yes. Do you?”

Right before those two lines, a portal appeared, and a Cookie stepped out of it.

“Uh… yeah? No? I have no idea.” Lemon Cookie shrugged

“Cool! Let’s see how you do!”

The Cookie jumped up, charged up a ball of crackling electricity, which suddenly enlarged, and launched it at me. I saw this happening in slow-motion, so I had the time to spin my pen into a staff and slam it into the ground. I must have slammed it too hard, as I found myself encased in a glowing case of red energy in the shape of an owl. With wings and talons and all that. Huh.

The owl voice piped up. “ _ Welcome! You have entered Owl Avatar mode! Do you want a tour of the functions?” _

_ “No” _ I replied.

I flew up and the ball of electricity flew under me, destroying my seat. “STOP! STOP!” An employee of Glyph rushed out with a piece of chalk, which he dragged on the ground, drawing sunlight to create a magic circle that blocked us two. 

The new Cookie looked at her hands. “W-what did I do?” 

I stopped my owl avatar and stood where my chair was. “Oh, electric powers? All children of Gummy Raiju have those, even if they don’t know it. Now, was that enlargement I saw?”

“Yes. But… why did I do that?”

“Jealousy? Envy?” What is the difference between the two? I have no idea.

“Come on! Introduce yourselves!” Orange Cookie implored.

“Ok. So… er… hello! My name is Lime Cookie!” She said shyly and blushed. She was wearing a green bikini for no good reason other then to look sexy and show off those probab… what am I talking about? 

“My name is Licorice Root Cookie. Just call me Licro.” 

“Come on, you two! You can do better than that!” 

  
  


Fun fact: Lime Cookie gets very shy when someone brings up her relationship with Orange, at least when it’s not competitive. 


End file.
